"Alleluia, alleluia. Hail, Queen of mercy! Do thou protect us from the enemy, and at the hour of death receive us. Alleluia" (Source: 1962 Missal)

Prayer:

Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, to those who are celebrating this solemnity of the blessed Virgin Mary our Queen: that safe in her protection we may deserve to enjoy present peace and future glory. Through our Lord.

At the bottom of the webpage for the first time is a list of feeds - Atom and RSS feeds. If you typically use a program to view blogs such as Google Reader or other similar programs, please subscribe to my feed so to be aware of new content as it is made available. If you do not use such a program, I highly encourage you to do so, as it simplifies the process of keeping track of the blogs which you enjoy frequenting.

Today I sat down and had the opportunity to read through "The Mass" by Father Louis A. Gales, a booklet, which I believe to be at least 50 years old judging by the condition of the document as well as the photographs inside.

The booklet begins with an enumeration of the Eight Wonders of the Mass and then immediately enters the the component of the text which explains the Mass section by section. But rather than simply providing a translation of the Tridentine Mass, Fr. Gales explains the spiritual significance and offers a meditative approach in addition to providing a translation of the prayers. This booklet is not a missal but rather offers beautiful commentary on the rubrics of the Mass of the Ages

Here is a short excerpt from the text:

"Now the priest reads one or ore prayers in a low voice. He asks God to accept our gift of bread and wine. We may pause here to realize that hte Mass is not something being done for us; rather it is being done by us in union with Christ.

The Secret Prayer changes from day to day. Here is one we pray on the Feast of All Saints..."

The book is composed of Fr. Gales' writings along with a series of photographs by Father Robert E. Southard, from the set of Eighty Mass Photos published and copyrighted by the Catechetical Guild. The Catechetical Guild Educational Society, at the time of this document's publication, was located in my city: St. Paul, Minnesota.

In another post relating to updating the blog, I would like to announce that the Book Review Page on A Catholic Life, which lists some of the books that I have reviewed, has been updated. I am very pleased with the many updates to the site in recent weeks, chief among them the website design that was created by the blogger at Sons of Lepanto.

In this recent change, I have updated some of the organizational structure and made it evident which books that I have read I also recommend to readers. So, if you enjoy reading, please see if there are any books on this list that you have not yet read.

In honor of the coming Solemnity of Pentecost and the glorious celebration of 50 Days after Easter Sunday, A Catholic Life wishes to create a compilation of any and all Traditional Latin Masses/Vespers for Pentecost.

How do I participate?

Take as many photos of the event as you would like and email them to be after the ceremony. Please use the following format in your submission:

Name: Your NameLocation: The Mass/Vespers locationCelebrant: OptionalTestimony: You may submit one sentence about the event. Specifically, please include in this sentence if you served in any sort of formal role.

So please mark your calendars and remember to bring along a camera for Pentecost!

Please spread this message. Again, please send me the photos as soon as possible after the event, as I wish to have these posted either on Pentecost Sunday or the Monday following it. Please send all emails to acatholiclife [at] gmail [dot] com.

I have just finished editing the individual saint pages listed under Roman Catholic Feastdays, so as to include a prayer for each saint. The majority of the prayers are from the Collects in the 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal, translation as from the Angelus Press Missal, though some other prayers are used at times.

I pray that this will allow many of you to bookmark my page and visit often. Each saint page not only includes a short biography written by me of the saint but also now features a prayer for your spiritual growth.

I will try to post updates on the main page each day for the saint whose feastday is that day, if I have written a page dedicated to him/her. I have not written a page on each saint yet, but as for each saint that I have written a page on, prayers are now listed for your spiritual life.

We can only find our happiness on earth in loving God, and we can only love Him in prayer to Him. We see that Jesus Christ, to encourage us often to have recourse to Him through prayer, promises never to refuse us anything if we pray for it as we should. But there is no need to go looking for elaborate and roundabout ways of showing you that we should pray often, for you have only to open your catechism and you will see there that the duty of every good Christian is to pray morning and evening and often during the day -- that is to say, always.

Which of us, my dear brethren, could, without tears of compassion, listen to those poor Christians who dare to say that they have not time to pray? You have not the time! Poor blind creatures, which is the more precious action: to strive to please God and to save your soul, or to go out to feed your animals in the stable or to call your children or your servants in order to send them out to till the earth or to tidy up the stable? Dear God! How blind man is!

You have not the time! But tell me, ungrateful creatures, if God had called you to die that night, would you have exerted yourselves? If He had sent you three or four months of illness, would you have exerted yourselves? Go away, you miserable creatures; you deserve to have God abandon you in your blindness and leave you thus to perish. We find that it is too much to give Him a few minutes to thank Him for the graces which He is giving us at every instant!

You must get on with your work, you say.

That, my dear people, is where you are greatly mistaken. You have no other work to do except to please God and to save your souls. All the rest is not your work. If you do not do it, others will, but if you lose your soul, who will save it?

COMMUNION - Sunday within the Octave of the AscensionJohn 17: 12, 13, 15

"Father, while I was with them, I kept them whom Thou gavest Me, alleluia; but now I come to Thee: I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from evil, alleluia, alleluia."

As the 1st Class Feast of Pentecost approaches, remember to pray in a special manner for the gifts of the Holy Ghost: wisdom, knowledge, counsel, understanding, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord.

"Unto the end, a canticle of a psalm of the resurrection. Shout with joy to God, all the earth, Sing ye a psalm to his name; give glory to his praise. Say unto God, How terrible are thy works, O Lord! in the multitude of thy strength thy enemies shall lie to thee. Let all the earth adore thee, and sing to thee: let it sing a psalm to thy name" (Psalms 65:1-4).

Image Source: Photos used with permission of Nick Gale, Found via Facebook.

While it may come as a shock to many of you, I have decided, upon prayer and reflection, to discontinue seminary formation at the end of this academic semester, which concludes for me at 10 AM CDT on May 22, 2009. Thus, effective in the latter part of May 2009, after two years of being a diocesan seminarian, I will leave the program. I would prefer not to go into a lengthy discussion about this issue at the present, but I do not feel that I can support many of the practices of the seminary and of the modern Catholic Church.

I still remain strongly supportive of traditional Catholic seminaries, but through my discernment, I have not felt the Lord calling me to any of these seminaries. I will continue to support Traditional Catholicism and Traditional Catholic seminaries, but I do not personally feel that I can best follow my vocation by joining a traditional seminary.

While I have decided to leave the diocesan seminary, I have decided to pursue an undergraduate degree in Accounting; therefore, in two years I will graduate with an Accounting Major and a Philosophy Minor. In regards to my pursuit of religious practices, I feel that effective immediately, I will be more able to serve the People of God than I have been able to do while in seminary. I have reactivated my blog and posted several articles that were previously saved as drafts (predominantly news stories), which I saved as drafts because I did not want to forget about them. All along I knew that someday (either through discernment or ordination) I would be able to reactive my blog. I will also continue to function as the administrator of Holy Vocations Blog.

I ask for your prayers and support at this crucial transition time. Next year, as I follow God's will for my life, I plan to once again actively write on the Catholic Faith, and Catholic Traditionalism in particular, which I have grown to love with the deepest depths of my heart. I will also make myself available for talks/conferences/lectures if anyone is willing to have me speak. I also plan to travel more extensively and visit Traditional Catholic Churches and shrines around the United States, while being open to the possibility to visiting European locations. Please direct any requests to me via email.

Through prayer, I have also discerned that from this point forward, I will attend the Tridentine Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite) and possibly some Eastern Catholic Rites. I will no longer attend the Novus Ordo Mass.

In the future, as a result of my current decision, I will have additional time to spend with the blogging community. It is my hope that I will eventually begin to meet more bloggers in person as we pursue a restoration of the Traditions of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ. While this news is undoubtedly shocking, I know that I am following the will of God for my life in this regard. Once again, I ask for your prayers as I undertake this period of transition. It is my hope and prayer that A Catholic Life Blog will once again serve as a place for your spiritual growth.

As a final note, if any of the readers of "A Catholic Life" could donate to me via the Paypal button in the sidebar, it would be tremendously helpful. With this change, I will need to pay a large amount of money to continue my education, but rather than working 24/7 I wish to continue to serve the Church and volunteer my time in such activities like serving the Holy Mass. The more money that I can raise through my blog, the less that I will have to raise by working all of the time. This would mean that I could spend more time blogging as well.

I am pleased to create, for the fourth year in a row, a special post welcoming all new Catholics. I am very pleased that Owen has again kindly created another image for this project, as he did in 2006. Please save it and post it on your blogs, websites, etc. There is no copyright restriction with this work. This image is a gift to all of those individuals who shall or have entered the Holy Catholic Church in the Year of Our Lord 2009.

"O God, Who willest that all men should be saved and should come to the knowledge of the truth: we beseech Thee, send forth laborers into Thy harvest, and grant them grace to speak Thy word with all boldness, so that Thy word may spread swiftly and be glorified, and all nations may know Thee, the only God and Him Who Thou hast sent: even Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord: Who with Thee liveth and reignth"

My web design expert, who so graciously aided A Catholic Life in updating its look, has started a blog of his own. His blog focuses on Catholic culture and deep examination of the roots of current issues. His first post is up just recently.

He is also willing to do web design work, encompassing many types of sites from blogs to e-commerce sites. Contact him through his email on his blogger profile and tell him ACatholicLife sent you for a discount.

Alleluia, alleluia. V.: God is ascended with a shout, and the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Alleluia. V.: (Ps. 67. 18). The Lord is in Sinai, in the holy place; ascending on high He hath led captivity captive.

Now is also the time to begin a Novena in Preparation for the Feast of Pentecost.

To all faithful who devoutly participate at a public Novena held in honor fo the Holy Ghost, is granted: Indulgence of 10 years each day. -- Plenary, if they were present at least five times at these exercises, under the usual conditions, and with a prayer for the intention of His Holiness.

To those, however, who shall perform privately these exercises, with the intention to do so nine consecutive days, is granted: Indulgence of 7 years, once a day. -- Plenary, on the usual conditions, for the complete novena and if they are hindered by any reasonable cause from performing this exercise in public.. -- P. P. O. n. 263.

These are beautiful photos of I Vespers of St. Joseph the Workman from April 31, 2009, from Edinburgh. The St. Andrews & Edinburgh Schola sings monthly old rite Vespers in the Cathedral. Benediction also took place, and the celebrant was Fr John Emerson of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP).

"Wisdom rendered to the just the wages of their labors and conducted them for a covert by day and for the light of stars by night. Alleluia, alleluia. (Psalm) Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Glory be to the Father. Wisdom rendered..." (Introit)

"O God, Creator of all things, Who didst lay on the human race the law of labor: graciously grant that by following the example of Saint Joseph and under his patronage, we may carry out the work Thou dost command, and obtain the reward Thou dost promise. Through our Lord" (Collect).

In light of the coming second year anniversary of the issuance of Summorum Pontificum - which was issued on July 7, 2007 - A Catholic Life wishes to celebrate this festival occurrence.

Do you know of a Latin Mass that has started in large part because of Summorum Pontificum? Do you have photographers and/or videos of a Mass and know the location at which the Mass is regularly offered?

If so, send me your name, the location of the Mass, the typical Mass times, and the photo and/or video [Notice: sending me these implies that you are the copyright holder and you release permission for A Catholic Life to use these photos and/or videos on the website]. Send all of these in an email with the necessary documents attached. You can find my email address via my blogger profile, located in the upper right corner of the sidebar. Entitle the email to me the following way: "Latin Mass Project 2009".

All of these will be compiled into one post made available on July 7, 2009, as we celebrate 2 years of Summorum Pontificum.

Please pass this message around so that as many people as possible have the opportunity to reply.Image Source: Una Voce Carmel

You may have noticed a shift in the design of this site. We are creating a brand new layout for your enjoyment. During this time you may note changes in the design, at times making the blog unreadable. We apologize for any problems. Check back soon for the launch of the new A Catholic Life blog!

If you notice anything strange, please comment. Also, any feedback is appreciated in the comments of this post.

On Sunday, May 3, 2009, in the Church of Notre-Dame de Bellaigue, His Excellency Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, ordained a new priest, four applicants (Brother Benedict and Brother Joseph, both french, Brother Etienne Brazil and Brother Bede USA) with minor orders (exorcist and acolyte ) and a new tonsure (Br. Odilon, a native of Dijon).The above photos are re-produced with permission of La Porte Latine.

Today, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI spent the final day of his trip to the Holy Land in Jerusalem. His Holiness has made visits to the Greek Orthodox patriarchate Theophilus III, the Armenian patriarchal church of St. James, and the Holy Sepulchre basilica.

Visit to the Greek Orthodox Partiarchate Theophilus III:

Pope Benedict XVI presents a gift to Theophilus III on the final day of his visit to the Holy Land (AFP/POOL/Heidi Levine).

Visit to the Holy Sepulchre Basilica:

Pope Benedict XVI prays before the place on which our Lord died on the Cross on Mt. Calvary, the most sacred of sites (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho).

The Holy Father prays before the site on which our Lord Jesus Christ was buried (REUTERS/Osservatore Romano).

Pope Benedict XVI prepares to kiss the Stone of the Anointing, where the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was washed following his crucifixion (AFP/Alberto Pizzoli).

The Holy Father's words on the Empty Tomb during this Eastertide are quite worth of meditation.

Departure Ceremony:

Pope Benedict XVI shakes hands with Israeli President Shimon Peres during a departure ceremony at the conclusion of his Holy Land 2009 visit (AFP/Jonathan Nackstrand).

Vatican, Mar. 26, 2009 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican has published the complete schedule for Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to theHoly Land in May. The Holy Father will visit Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories during his voyage, which will take place May 8-15.

The first stop on the papal itinerary is Amman, Jordan. Arriving there on May 8, he will make a courtesy call at the royal palace that afternoon.

The next day, Saturday, he will travel to Mount Nebo and its memorial to Moses, then to the site of Madaba University, administered by the Latin-rite Catholic patriarchate of Jerusalem. Later in the day he will meet with Muslim leaders at Amman's largest house of worship, the Mosque of al-Hussein bin Talal. At the close of the day he will lead a Vespers service at the Melkite Catholic cathedral of St. George.

Sunday morning, May 10, the Pope will celebrate Mass at a soccer stadium in Amman. In the afternoon he will visit the site of Christ's Baptism on the Jordan River.

On Monday, May 11, the Pontiff will fly to Tel Aviv. Traveling by car to Jersualem, he will pay a courtesy call on Israel's President Shimon Peres-- who is due to escort him during his stay in that country-- and later visit the Yad Vashem memorial to Holocaust victims.

Tuesday, May 12, the Pope will visit the religious shrines in the Old City of Jerusalem. He will meet with the Grand Mufti at the Dome of the Rock, then pray at the Western Wall and meet with Israel's chief rabbis. At noon he will join with the Catholic bishops of the region to pray the Regina Caeli at the Cenacle. In the afternoon he will celebrate Mass in the Valley of Josaphat.

On May 13 the Pope will go to Bethlehem, where he will celebrate Mass in Manger Square. In the afternoon, following a visit to the Nativity grotto in the Bethlehem basilica, he will visit the Aida Refugee Camp, speaking there to Palestinian refugees. That evening he will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his residence in Bethlehem.

On Thursday, May 14, Pope Benedict will travel into Galilee, and celebrate Mass in Nazareth. He is scheduled to meet with the Israeli prime minister there in the afternoon, then address religious leaders in the Annunciation basilica.

On Friday, May 15, his last day in the Holy Land, the Pontiff will be back in Jerusalem, making visits to the Greek Orthodox patriarchate, the Armenian patriarchal church of St. James, and the Holy Sepulchre basilica. That afternoon he will return to Ben Gurion airport outside Tel Aviv, for a brief departure ceremony and his return flight to Rome. He is due back at the Vatican by early Friday evening.

Rev. Fr. Donald Kloster, in this talk recorded in January 2009, offers significant insight in this first talk on matters such as the importance of silence. His comment's on the ad orientem posture is also worth repeating.

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